Magic Discovered

Chapter 23

In the flickering light from Algon's fire, James could see the Ikirian clearly for the first time. He was tall, very tall in fact, but also slim. But the biggest surprise was that he was an insect. A glossy black exoskeleton covered his segmented body and his arms had hands that only possessed 2 long fingers instead of the usual 5. He even had antennae like an ant or beetle.

After she was able to fully realize what she was looking at, Lydia jumped back with a small cry, but James and Delta didn't move. The Ikirian gave them another look and then turned his attention back to Ran.

Assessing the situation, he opened his mouth and released a series of clicks and grunts.

"That didn't translate," Delta whispered.

"We must be out of the spell's range?"

More clicks came from above and an entire squad of Ikirian materialized out of the night sky, each identical to the first. They formed a perimeter around the friends and glared menacingly at the jungle.

Ran got up from where he was knocked down and roared, seeing the new arrivals. In response, they put up their hands and unveiled one other thing James hadn't noticed. From their upper body, a set of claw-like arms emerged and swung forwards, each looking razor sharp. In total, this meant that they had 6 appendages, which made them fully resemble insects.

Ran charged the group, horns glowing once more with white light. One of the Ikirian stepped forward in response to lightly grab hold of Ran and stop him in his tracks. The rest of them held up their hands, which began to glow with a rainbow-colored light.

The original Ikirian stepped up to Algon and lightly tapped him on the shoulder. He spun around, obviously surprised.

"Oh, hi," he said faintly. "I didn't see you arrive. I guess I was focusing a bit too much on my spell."

The Ikirian made a series of clicks, ending with a sweep of his hand, but Algon shook his head.

"I don't understand. What do you want?"

The Ikirian started to speak, but stopped, realizing that that would just result in more confusion. Instead, he pointed at the ring of fire and made the same sweeping motion again.

"You want me to cut off my spell?" Algon asked, a bit astonished.

The Ikirian nodded, appearing a bit relieved that his point had gotten across.

"I can't do that! That's the only thing keeping out the jungle!"

Nearby, Ran continued his fight with the Ikirian. The others forming the circle around the friends began to buzz softly, all 4 arms glowing brighter.

The Ikirian next to Algon made the motion again, seemingly becoming impatient.

"Alright, if you say so."

"Algon, what are you doing?!?" Lydia was snapped out of her shock by his comment. "You'll kill us all!"

Algon shook his head. "No, for some reason I trust him. He won't let us die. And besides, I was going to collapse soon from exhaustion regardless." He turned back to the Ikirian. "Whenever you're ready."

The Ikirian clicked, drawing the attention of the others. He raised an arm and they nodded, refocusing on the jungle with greater intensity.

Algon looked up at the Ikirian and waited. The arm came slashing down and he cut off his spell, allowing the jungle to leap forward in an attempt to swallow the group whole.

James suddenly realized that, although there was no more fire to provide light, the clearing was still lit by an enormous glow coming from the circle of Ikirian surrounding them. They let out a harmonious buzz, and a wave of rainbow light flowed forward to meet the jungle.